All About Bernie Dexter

My name is Bernadette but nobody calls me that (unless I'm getting carded or pulled over of course). All my friends call me Bernie. I live in San Diego and love the slower pace of life and of course the feeling of the sun and beach breezes on my skin.

My mother is from Oklahoma City and my father is from the Philippine Islands (now I think of it I am convinced this is where I get my curvy shape from). They met in the 1960's at a club where my mom danced when my father was on leave from the U.S. Navy. He fell in love with her at first sight!

My mother became a burlesque dancer at the ripe old age of 17 and as a kid I had no idea really what kind of dancing she did until I was rummaging through an old 1800's trunk she owned and found some old lobby cards that featured her!! I never asked her about it as a teenager as I felt like it was her private, secret world but I was intrigued as I found her so fascinating. Sowing the seed

Even as young as 5 or 6 I had started to stand by my mother's side for hours watching her do her make up & hair. She used false eyelashes & everything! I was always fascinated with her transformation from girl next door to this sexy vixen!! I remember even trying on her high heel shoes when she would leave the room so I guess the seed had been sown all the way back then.

When I was not studying my mom I was in front of the television fascinated with the family film festival on Sunday mornings. I loved watching the black/white and Technicolor films as the dancing was inspiring and the women so glamorous. As a consequence I begged my mom for tap dance lessons which I started aged just 5 years old. I continued to tap dance for 10 years and also went through acting school. One of the highlights of that time was meeting John Caradine!

At 12 years old my mom sighed me up for my first beauty pageant. The pageants were great for learning poise & smooth walking and I ended up doing the pageant circuit until I was 18. That was the year I won 'Miss Teen San Diego County U.S.A.' From there I went to Miss Teen Calif. U.S.A. where I was placed in the top 15. The transition to pinup model

After the pageant circuit I got into the rockabilly scene and still love it to this day. The music, dancing, cars, guys and of course the outfits and style are all so exciting to me.

As far as my career goes I went to cosmetology school and found it was easy for me to pick up hair dressing. The next thing I know I am doing all my friend's hair & makeup before we would go out to rockabilly shows. I really think studying my mom and all those movies paid off.

My first job after the schooling was with M.A.C. Cosmetics. I was so lucky as I got the best training in the world there! Finally I decided to freelance & that is were all this pin up modelling comes in. I was working on shoots with a few pinup style photographers doing hair, make up, set design and wardrobe.

I have had the privilege with working with some of the most beautiful women in the world and never in my wildest dreams thought I would get a chance to be in front of the camera. However, one night it happened and there was some real magic in the room. I submitted the photos to a pin up contest on the web and got a lot of great feedback. Why Pinup?

Well apart form the obvious connections with the rockabilly scene I simply love to dress up in 1940's/1950's clothing and lingerie whether it's genuine vintage or simply inspired from that era. I have been collecting clothes and accessories for as long as I can recall and I can even remember going to the thrift store with my mom when I was a little girl and sifting through everything to find amazing glamorous items.

I have always found myself buying the dresses and shoes even with no real knowledge and then finding out that "Oh that is a great vintage dress!!" I guess I'm lucky enough to just have an eye for it. I have had a lot of fun buying and selling on Ebay which can be a great source of vintage items and to this day I still have an Ebay store.

On top of all that I have always been inspired by the women from the golden age of glamour so putting all these factors together and it's not hard to see that classic pinup is where my heart lies. From then to now!

Since that first fateful night in front of the camera I have shot with many different photographers and modelled for many different websites, it's been like a whirlwind. I started a Yahoo Group which grew steadily and the majority of the feedback I have received has been really positive.

Thing is I am quite shy and retiring by nature hence I am sometimes really reluctant to believe I have what it takes. I thought about opening my own website, but kept putting the decision off until Kate from The Pinup Portal got in touch. Over several long conversations she persuaded me to go for it and hence here I am today. I plan to develop the website further with the introduction of a store and possibly some sort of members area if the demand warrants it. Loves & inspirations

I love champagne especially with potato chips!! Red is my favourite color! I love lingerie, high heels, rockabilly music, film noir, the beach and the sand between my toes!! Oh and diamonds of course! I love Eugene Savage especially his Hawaiian print clothes! There is nothing like slinky cold rayon next to my skin!! Then of course there are thrift shops & Ebay (here's a link to my Ebay store).

As for those who inspire me chief among these is my mom. I only wish I had more photos of her and the old lobby cards, sadly our house went up in flames in the early 90's and we lost so many of our photos. I hope you will enjoy a collage of her that I will put together soon from what we do still have.

Other inspirations include Bette Davis, Bunny Yeager, Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Marilyn Monroe, Mamie Van Doren, Anne Margaret, Jayne Mansfield and Jane Russell. Conclusion

Well hopefully that gives you an insight into what makes me who I am. I must say I found writing this very difficult as I am so desperate not to come over all full of myself and the big 'I am'. The thing is I do know how lucky I've been in life and to have the support of my loved ones to do the things I want to do is just amazing so let me say a massive thank you to all of them.

Well I hope you've enjoyed reading a little of my history and if there's anything I've missed do be sure to let me know.

Bernie Dexter. July 2004.

P.S. I thought you might just like to see a picture of each of the three generations, on the left my grandma, in the middle my wonderful mom and finally little ol' me!